No Zoning Out Here. HB 587 Would Give Your County a Say.

A data center wants the pasture next to your house. Your county judge says he has no power to stop it, slow it, or set a single rule on it. HB 587 says that has to change.

Plain English

On November 9, 2026, the first day of bill filing, Rep. Brent Money of House District 2 filed HB 587. (FACT, Texas Legislature Online)

The caption reads: "Relating to the authority of a county to regulate the construction of certain industrial and offensive land use facilities." (FACT, filed House bills report)

Here is what it would do.

Out in the county, outside city limits, nobody could build an industrial facility or an "offensive land use facility" without a permit from the commissioners court. (FACT, bill text, Sec. 240.102)

The bill lists what counts as industrial: power plants, wind farms, solar farms, battery storage, manufacturing plants, distribution and logistics centers, data centers, water and wastewater plants, and "another heavy industrial or large-scale commercial facility." (FACT, bill text, Sec. 240.101)

Offensive land use means concrete plants, concrete crushers, landfills, solid waste transfer stations, and wrecking and salvage yards. (FACT, bill text)

Before a permit is issued, the commissioners court has to hold at least two public hearings, at least two weeks and no more than two months apart. (FACT, bill text, Sec. 240.103)

The court has to weigh how the project fits the land around it, public health and safety, air, water and soil, roads, utilities, emergency services, and what county residents say. (FACT, bill text, Sec. 240.105)

The court can attach conditions like noise reduction, road work, water protection, and training and equipment for first responders. It can suspend or revoke a permit if the holder breaks the terms or the project causes "undue harm" to the community. (FACT, bill text, Secs. 240.105 and 240.106)

If it passes, it takes effect September 1, 2027. (FACT, bill text, Section 2)

Why It Matters

Texas cities can zone. Texas counties, for the most part, cannot. That is why so many rural folks find out about a project when the bulldozers show up.

This is not theory in East Texas.

On July 14, 2026, Angelina County commissioners voted unanimously on a resolution asking the Legislature for limited authority over data centers and battery storage: setbacks, noise limits, water impact statements, and a public hearing for big projects. (DOCUMENTED INFERENCE, KLTV)

Angelina County Judge Keith Wright was reported saying, "We don't make backdoor decisions." (DOCUMENTED INFERENCE, KLTV)

In Hill County, commissioners passed a one-year data center moratorium in May. A developer sued in federal court arguing the county had no authority to do it. On June 4 the court rescinded the moratorium and adopted review requirements instead. (DOCUMENTED INFERENCE, KERA via Texas Public Radio)

In Delta County, the county judge said a proposed data center was not a good fit and pointed to how little land use authority Texas counties have. (DOCUMENTED INFERENCE, KETR)

So counties are asking. Counties that tried to act got sued. HB 587 is the first bill this session that puts a real answer on paper.

The Receipt

• HB 587 bill history: capitol.texas.gov
• HB 587 introduced text (PDF): capitol.texas.gov
• Filed House bills, 90th Legislature: capitol.texas.gov

What Ryan Says

I believe in property rights. All the way.

But property rights cut both ways. The man who has run cattle on the same land for forty years has rights too. So does the family whose well sits downhill from a concrete crusher.

Right now the only people with no voice are the ones who live there.

Two public hearings. In the open. On the record. That is not big government. That is the county court doing its job where people can see it.

I want this bill to get a hearing.

And I want it tightened. "Another heavy industrial or large-scale commercial facility" is wide. Wide language grows. I do not want a law meant for data centers turning into permit paperwork for a man building a hay barn or a feed store. Write the line clear, and keep agriculture out of it.

Local control is not about saying no to everything. It is about who gets asked first.

What This Does Not Prove

• It does not prove the bill will pass. It was filed today. No committee, no hearing, no vote yet.
• It does not prove any project named in the news is harmful, or that any county would have stopped it.
• It does not prove counties would use this power well. Good law still needs good commissioners.
• The county quotes and votes above come from news reports and are labeled that way.

What It Does Prove

• A Texas House member filed a bill on day one that would require a county permit and two public hearings before a data center, solar farm, battery site, landfill or concrete plant goes up outside city limits.
• East Texas counties have been asking Austin for exactly this kind of authority.

The Bottom Line

The people who live next to the project should be heard before it is built, not after.

Give HB 587 a hearing. Tighten the definitions. Put the vote on the record.

Do not threaten anyone. Do not harass anyone. Do not contact anyone in my name. Read it. Share it. Send receipts, evidence, witnesses. Put eyes on the record.